Chenopodium oil / by Thomas Anderson Henry and Humphrey Paget.

  • Henry, Thomas Anderson, 1873-1958
Date:
[1921.]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Chenopodium oil / by Thomas Anderson Henry and Humphrey Paget. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    investigators (compare Wirth, J. Amer. Pharm. Assoc., 1920, 9, 139). Since the present authors began their work Nelson has re-examined the hydrocarbon fraction and produced evidence of the presence of a-terpinene and Mimonene (J. Amer. Chem. Soc., 1920, 42, 1204), whilst Caius and Mhaskar have stated, without adducing any experimental data, that the fraction contains cymene, terpinene, and phellandrene (Ind. J. Med. Res., 1920, 7, 570). It has been assumed generally that the value of the oil as an anthelmintic is due to the ascaridole, but Hall and Hamilton have asserted as a result of an extensive series of pharmacological trials that the “ lighter ” portions (that is, the hydrocarbon fraction) are more active as anthelmintics than the “ heavier ” (ascaridole) fractions (J. Pharm. Exp. Ther., 1918, 11, 89). In view of this confusion, it seemed to the authors desirable that the oil should be re-examined and the nature and pharmacological action of its components definitely settled. The pharmacological examination of the substances isolated from the oil has been undertaken by Dr. Wilson G. Smillie of the Instituto de Hygiene, San Paulo, Brazil, who has already obtained a number of interesting results, which will be recorded elsewhere. Experimental. Six lots of chenopodium oil, purchased through ordinary trade channels, were used. These had the following constants : (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) d\%. 0-9665 0-9663 0-9712 0-9723 0-9672 0-9582 Sp. rotation [a]j,r’ ... — 5-7° —4-5° —5-3° —5-3° —6*3° —6-8° The oils were separated by distillation under 15 mm. pressure into three fractions: (a) b. p. below 84°, d\ll 0-8596 to 0-8839, [a]1/ —14° to -18°; (b) b. p. 84—104°, d1^ 0-9200 to 1-0070, [a]if —5° to -11°; and (c) b. p. 104—118°, 1-0120 to 1-0160, Mif —0-25° to —1-18°, which usually formed about 25, 15, and 55 per cent, respectively of the whole oil. The residual 5 per cent, is chiefly ascaridole glycol. The oil is difficult to fractionate, especially in the later stages, owing to the risk of explosive decom¬ position of the ascaridole. Fraction (a) consisted mainly of hydro¬ carbons, (ib) of a mixture of hydrocarbons and ascaridole, and (c) was almost pure ascaridole. Fraction (b) was further treated by carefully heating it under a reflux condenser at atmospheric pressure, when the ascaridole decomposed with considerable violence, but without loss, giving the isomeric ascaridole glycol anhydride. On steam-distilling the product, the anhydride yielded the correspond¬ ing glycol, which was not volatile in steam, so that the distillate